the wasserblawg

The old standard operating procedure for Chicago area residential closings may be changing a bit, based on an announcement I recently received from  Chicago Title. Outbound emails from CT's REO unit in Carrol Stream now advise recipients that the title company will no longer accept third party checks at closings. Apparently, company auditors  want all funds to be made payable directly to the title company. The new rule is effective May 1, 2011, but I am told that Carrol Stream is implementing a  "soft" introduction of the new rules  to allow time for word to get out of the change. The rule of thumb for as long as  I have been handling Chicago area real estate closings has been that any funds a Buyer (or Seller) would bring to the closing table would be in the form of a wire transfer or a cashiers/certified check made payable to that Buyer (or Seller). Once the parties were satisfied with all of the closing documents and settlement figures, the Buyer would endorse tha